This invention is directed to certain silicone compounds which are diquaternary ammonium functional polysiloxanes. The silicone compounds have a variable amount of hydrophobicity at the center of the molecule. The degree of hydrophobicity of the molecule can be adjusted for the purpose of controlling the effectiveness of deposition of the silicone compound on fabrics, thereby rendering these compounds more useful in the field of fabric softening and fabric conditioning. The adjustable molecular center makes it possible to tailor compounds with more desirable hydrophile/lipophile balances for aqueous applications such as fabric softening and fabric conditioning.
Diquaternary polysiloxanes are known in the art. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,166 issued Jan. 2, 1990, there are described products which are said to be useful in preparations for the care of the hair. While the compounds of the '166 patent are diquaternary silicones, they differ significantly from the compounds of the present invention in that a linking group "M" between the silicon atom and the quaternary ammonium group "Z" requires the presence of a hydroxyl group and which may be interrupted by an oxygen atom. An example of a typical linking group "M" of the '166 patent is --(CH.sub.2).sub.3 OCH.sub.2 CH(OH)CH.sub.2 --.
No such linking group is present or necessary in the compounds of the present invention. In addition, at least one of the alkyl radicals R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3, in the '166 patent, which are attached to the positively charged nitrogen atom, is required to contain a minimum of ten carbon atoms; whereas the corresponding alkyl groups of the compounds of the present invention do not exceed six. Such differences cause the compounds of the '166 patent to possess deposition properties inappropriate for fabric conditioning and softening applications.